The witch has been found guilty, and the stake awaits, but first the condemned must undergo one last interrogation. The witch may have admitted to striking a deal with the Devil, but that’s not the end of the case.
Several witch trials start out as a single case but develop through interrogations and torture into many interlinked accusations and trials. Like a chain reaction, the condemned person accuse others of witchcraft, and these others inform against still others in their turn.
In several cases, the trial gives rise to an almost panicked frenzy. Such cases may end in countless witchcraft accusations across the local community, and entire families – men, women and children, including wealthy, influential citizens – may be wiped out.
These panics often arise from a weak central administration, a large number of accusations extracted under torture and slackened witness requirements. The small German states of Bamberg, Trier and Wurzburg are among the worst affected. During the most extensive panic in Cologne, 2.000 people are executed for witchcraft in just eight years.
These panics often taper out once the accusers start naming atypical suspects like children and well-to-do citizens – perhaps because these aren’t normally associated with sorcery.